Cleveland Browns after further review: What we learned from Divisional Round

Defensive focus

While it is easy to blame the defense for their struggles this year, the real blame should partially be on the front office, and the rest on bad luck. Remember, Grant Delpit, Greedy Williams, and Andrew Billings we all supposed to be major parts of this defense, and none played a single snap this year.  Delpit and Williams was injured in camp and Billings was a COVID-19 holdout.

With that being said, the focus this offseason must be on that side of the ball. Myles Garrett needs a counterpart to take away double teams, the linebackers need a huge upgrade in talent, and we must figure out what to do in the secondary. There are great players, but none seem to stay healthy and that is an issue in the NFL.

What strategy do I see the Browns taking? A big-name defensive end in free agency, a “value” singing in free agency at linebacker, and an early defensive back in the draft followed by a defense-heavy draft. While I want to see the Browns bring in some real talent at linebacker, it just isn’t in the analytical DNA of Andrew Berry and Paul DePodesta.

There are some great pieces on this defense, but overall there were far too many holes to compete for a Super Bowl in 2020. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods will get one free pass, but after that, he needs to be held accountable. The 2021 season will be the team’s biggest window to spend money in other places than quarterback, they must take advantage to try and compete for a title.